What’s It Take to ‘Make It’ Today?
‘Ability to relate’ to people and ‘integrity’ may be the most important ingredients in a successful career as a CPA.
What’s the best career advice you could offer? READ MORE →
Are YOU Ready for Tax Season 2006?
What have practitioners learned from last year?
by Rick Telberg
From the AICPA Insider
As they say, fool me once, shame on you; fool me twice, shame on me. Tax practitioners may fall into the twice-shamed category since they appear to be experiencing the same recurring, historical tax preparation problems. Perhaps, using the words of George Santayana, accountants who “cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.”
Nevertheless, before you start sending us e-mails suggesting that we have denigrated a noble profession, please read on.
What was the No. 1 tax preparation problem of 2005? And how will some tax practitioners deal with the problem in 2006? The study is collecting input. Join the study and get the answers.
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Can You Boost Business Performance by 22%?
Employee growth and development proves to be key
Employee management practices have a proven impact on the top and bottom line ? resulting in returns of up to 66% in sales and 13% in equity, according to a study by the University of California Center for Effective Organizations.
In another recent study, conducted by Cornell University?s Center for Advanced Human Resource Studies, small companies that use practices such as training to promote long-term growth and development, and hiring people who want to grow and develop within the business were able to increase the customer orientation of their staff by 29%.
Businesses with 5 to 39 employees improved their overall performance by 15%, while those with 40 to 125 employees improved by 22%. READ MORE →
Are accountants any happier than the average worker? Maybe.
Survey of 10,000 Workers Examines Retention Tactics and Employee Tenure
Three in ten (30 percent) accounting workers would not consider another job offer, while just one-fifth (19 percent) of human resource and manufacturing workers feel that way, according to a new study by Hudson Highland, the human resources provider.
Overall, the company says, workers still consider a competitive pay and benefits package to be indispensable, but employers need to offer more than that to keep employees satisfied and on the job.
Nearly all of the workforce (96 percent) rated a fair salary as very or somewhat important and 93 percent said the same for benefits. However, when workers’ needs regarding career advancement, the relationship with their manager, and training are not being met, they are more likely to look for a new job than when their salary and benefits are poor. READ MORE →
Ex-KPMG Chief Dies after Battle with Cancer
Eugene D. O’Kelly led firm after IRS tax-shelter probes
O’Kelly died Saturday at his New York home, KPMG said in a statement. He resigned his executive roles at KPMG in June after disclosing that he was diagnosed with advanced-stage cancer, but remained a senior partner. He was succeeded by CEO Timothy Flynn. O’Kelly led KPMG from 2002 to 2005 and is credited with changing the company’s culture and governance after a government probe into tax shelters. KPMG last month agreed to pay a $456 million fine to settle the tax case.
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College Accounting Rolls Rebound
But what’s it take for CPAs to succeed today?
by Rick Telberg
At Large
According to the latest national survey by the American Institute of CPAs, a slight increase in the number of accounting graduates is alleviating a severe shortage of professionals in this over-worked field.
More professionals in the field might mean more competition for jobs and salaries, but let’s face it: What the profession really needs is more hands on deck.
[What's it take to succeed today? Join the study and find out.]
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Robert Half: CFOs See Slight Uptick in Hiring
Financial Sector Expected to Experience Greatest Growth
The hiring of full-time accounting and finance professionals is expected to increase slightly in the fourth quarter, according to the Robert Half International Financial Hiring Index. Seven percent of chief financial officers polled expect to add staff and 3 percent anticipate personnel reductions; 89 percent of executives forecast no changes. The net 4 percent increase is up one point from the third-quarter projection. READ MORE →
How Safe Are Your IT Systems?
One in five businesses suffer break-ins, breakdowns, or rip-offs
By Rick Telberg
Special for HP
September 2005
Businesses’ information technology systems are more vulnerable to crippling security break-ins from the Internet than many business owners or even IT professionals would suspect. Twenty percent of commercial and nonprofit enterprises have suffered some kind of system failure caused by attacks from outsiders on the Internet and more than half of those attacked expect to be victimized again, according to fresh data from Quocirca Ltd., United Kingdom-based international analysts of IT and communications systems.
It’s not just Spyware, worms or viruses. The types of software agents causing devastating IT breakdowns are changing shapes and forms everyday and are so malicious that a new term has been coined – “malware.” New malware is being created at such a fast and pervasive pace that traditional security models cannot possibly handle them all, Quocirca says in a chilling white paper on the vulnerabilities in Internet communications. READ MORE →
Finding Growth in Niche Markets
With nearly a million new business start-ups each year and only about half surviving into their fifth year, how do you tell the winners from the losers?
One answer: Look for niche businesses, like financial planning for baby boomers or technology security consulting.
Niche firms like these are the firms which offer a product or service focusing on one specific aspect or customer base within an industry. They have, according to Entrepreneur magazine, a 25% better chance of surviving over 10 years than general types of companies. And they don?t just survive — they are growing at a rate of 20-25% per year.
Who are they? READ MORE →
